I spent most of my first day in Tatarstan learning (again) how it feels to be a foreign eejut. It's not so bad. Viktor met me at the airport this morning, and drove me to the splendid Hotel Shaliapin Palace, where I promptly went to bed for a few hours. Then, about midday local time, I got up and explored a bit. Turning right out of the hotel, I set myself the goals (all eventually accomplished) of getting some rubles, a hairbrush, some razor blades, an alarum clock, and a new mobile. I managed to take in quite a bit of sight seeing, notably down in the enormous marketplace which stretches for miles down from the posh bit of town, getting increasingly exotic as it approaches the Volga.
Tatarstan is only 40% russian, and the rest is Tatars. I bought my alarm clock from a tatar lady in the Market,
and many others were selling strange herbs and spices and dried fruit. Why are only men allowed to sell dried fruit?
Why are there so many cheap shoes now that I don't need any? It was too hot to resolve these questions, so I staggered back to the posh bit of town, and worked out how to get a new phone for under 1000 rubles.
Better get back into work mode soon...
Why are there so many cheap shoes now that I don't need any? It was too hot to resolve these questions, so I staggered back to the posh bit of town, and worked out how to get a new phone for under 1000 rubles.
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